Originally Posted by Often1

OP has simply ignored every piece of advice and analysis, leaving one to wonder why she posted here in the first place.

1. She refuses to read the COC because if she did she would learn that she (or her husband as to his ticket) agreed that there is nothing due beyond a refund of the fare difference if seated in a less expensive cabin, e.g. downgraded.

2. She need not do any suing unless she likes paying lawyers, because AA will pay out #1 for the asking without a lawsuit and most judges frown on frivolous lawsuits.

3. On the off-chance that AA does deny a refund, it won't be hard for OP to win the refund above. But, a retroactive change in the contract is not in the cards.

Finally, it doesn't matter whether OP was bumped for a CK or a FAM. But, I wouldn't go tossing unfounded allegations around without clear evidence.

So, once again, I would ask why OP doesn't ask to be rerouted on BA or on another service with F?

Originally Posted by bhrubin

My husband and I were ticketed in Nov 2016 for F on AA136 from LAX-LHR today. We were on separate locators.

In June 2017, I noticed that both our reservations had been adjusted to J--with no notice. There had been an equipment swap on our 6:05 pm LAX-LHR flight with a 7:555 pm LAX-LHR. Our 6:05 pm LAX-LHR flight was 2 classes lacking F, while the 7:55 pm LAX-LHR was the original 3 classes including F.

I changed both of our reservation to the 7:55 pm flight so we could maintain our F seats. We both received an email confirmation for the change on July 10, 2017, showing we both were ticketed in F on the 7:55 pm flight in seats 2A and 2G.

Today, I checked in and was seated in 1A, and the rest of the F cabin appeared full. I didn't worry too much. I just assumed my husband was one of those other seats in F.

Until I checked in my husband. He wasn't assigned a seat at all. Calling in, they tried to give him J and explained there had been an equipment swap.

That was a patent lie, as the swap clearly occurred in/before June 2017 and we had both switched to the 77W with F after that swap. There clearly had been no further swap since our re-ticketing that was confirmed on July 10, since I was still ticketed in F and we were ticketed and confirmed at the same time on July 10 for F on the same 77W flight at 7:55 pm.

As far as I can tell, this is a blatant violation of the Contract of Carriage, but AA doesn't want to admit its error. It changed my husband's ticket from F to J AFTER the swap. That is illegal.

What are my courses of action for reimbursement from AA? There are no F seats left, so he has no choice but to fly today in J.

Originally Posted by lobo411

...

Frankly, I'll never fly AA on the LAX-LHR route again. It seems to me that AA is extremely ruthless in how they manage their inventory on this route--they'd dash a baby's brains against the wall if it would get them an extra buck of revenue.

Originally Posted by Thunderroad

1. You might want to make clear here whether these are mileage or revenue tickets, as that could affect the advice you get.

Originally Posted by Antipode

That the seat assignments changed indicates to me that there was likely some other change that caused seats to be reassigned.

Originally Posted by bhrubin

We have no hope for a change in his seat from J to F. We are expecting that AA will refund more than the fare difference or award miles in recognition of the bad treatment. When you contract for a service and get something less, you should get compensation beyond the difference--or else business has no incentive to ever deliver on what was contracted.

We don't expect AA will do either. Which is why we expect to never fly AA again. A real shame, but then that seems to be the story around AA these days: just USAir in even worse disguise.

Originally Posted by Dr. HFH

...<snip>
Is it possible that there was a subsequent change? Perhaps from a 77W to a 772? Even switching tail numbers to the same type of equipment has been known to cause the loss of all seat assignments.

Originally Posted by LBJ

While not an equipment type swap, there was an aircraft swap last night --

Sep 28 1:08 AM Gate Adjustment Tail Number Changed From N728AN To N717AN

Originally Posted by bhrubin

After the swap to the plane without F, we BOTH were moved to the second flight with F. We both got confirmed and ticketed. There has been no swap since, since I'm obviously still in F and yet my husband isn't even though we were and are on the same darn flight! There is only ONE type of aircraft that has international F in the entire AA inventory--the 77W. We both were moved after the swap back to the 77W in F at the different/later time. We both still are on the 77W at that same different/later time. The fact that we had different locators is the only reason that I managed to stay in F and my husband got downgraded to J.

The reason my husband was downgraded has nothing to do with an aircraft swap. That is a patent lie. It has no valid justification--other than someone at AA chose to downgrade him as a mistake in order to placate someone else, despite his being already confirmed and ticketed.

Originally Posted by Antipode

That the seat assignments changed indicates to me that there was likely some other change that caused seats to be reassigned. Perhaps there was an additional schedule change or equipment change, and maybe one that even reverted back to the original rebooked schedule. In addition to some of the ideas of what happened suggested above, it's also possible that somehow during that process only one seat got assigned and the other one remained unassigned. Then, when AA oversold F, it left the husband being the odd one out with no seat assignment and the cabin full.

That said, I agree that at this point it doesn't really matter what happened, and it's a matter of how you're going to deal with it. Trying to get rebooked on another flight in F is an option, but getting AA to fork over for BA F seems like a hard sell (can't hurt to ask though).

Would I be upset in the same situation? You bet! But that doesn't mean AA violated its Contract of Carriage as OP keeps claiming over and over. I suggest taking a look at it, particularly sections on oversales and denied boarding, before going nuclear and wasting time and money on fruitless for legal action. There's some pretty good advice here about what to ask for, what is reasonable to expect, and what AA is actually obligated to provide. I would listen to it instead and make the best of it instead of railing on about how AA is out to get you.

Originally Posted by bhrubin

... As far as I can tell, this is a blatant violation of the Contract of Carriage, but AA doesn't want to admit its error. It changed my husband's ticket from F to J AFTER the swap. That is illegal.

Originally Posted by bhrubin

...The reason my husband was downgraded has nothing to do with an aircraft swap. That is a patent lie. It has no valid justification--other than someone at AA chose to downgrade him as a mistake in order to placate someone else, despite his being already confirmed and ticketed.

Originally Posted by CloudCoder

I suspect they had to give the seat to a FAM (Federal Air Marshall). When that happens, they are not _allowed_ to tell you why. If you ask them why, they _must_ tell you a lie...

Originally Posted by JDiver

...But... if your husband was displaced by a Federal Air Marshal they must lie to you...

Originally Posted by muishkin

I don't think OP wants to do anything other than vent and then sue AA for damages after travel.

Originally Posted by AAExecPlatFlier

99% sure it is an air Marshall.

Why don't u ask for a re route through another city?

Originally Posted by AAExecPlatFlier

99% sure it is an air Marshall.

Originally Posted by Blumie

I think that this is FT lore that has been passed down through the generations and perpetuated by this thread. I've never seen any evidence that this occurs with the frequency claimed here. Moreover, how would that explain why both seats were changed (one downgraded, one moved to a different seat)?